Caravan Trio WT
by Arkbird
Summary: This story followes Asa, Kyre and Gale on their quest to obtain the essential substance called Myrrh.
1. Chapter 1

So, I found this on my old computer, and decided to finish it. I can't seem to come up with a good title, so if you have any ideas, just leave them in the comment sections. Also, you may recognize the main character's name. Why do I continue to use this name? Because I like it and I can't come up with anything better.

**Amidst the blue skies, a link from past to future. The sheltering wings of the protector...**

Chapter 1: Arrival

"Tell me again, why we're here?" asked Asa, complaining once again about his family moving to the town of Tipa from their old village.

"Because," His mother, Kar'ra snapped, "Valtue was degrading, and it's crystal was failing, plus, there was cheap land here."

Asa said nothing, instead playing with his hair, which was blonde, and cascaded down to the small of his back. His eyes were a frosty blue, and he, like the rest of his Selkie race, wore a tunic made of fur, which ended about mid thigh and was a light purple color. He wasn't very tall, only about five food two inches.

When they finally arrived, Asa bolted out of the wagon his family used to travel, partly because he wanted to get the best room, and partly because after being cooped up for three days, he felt like he was going to die if he didn't run soon. After unloading their stuff (there wasn't a lot), and getting settled into his room (it wasn't that great), Asa and his family went to visit the village elder. The elder was a short, bearded man, who had limited vision. They told the elder that they would be working as the village blacksmith. The elder said he would make arrangements to help then along, and then asked if any of then would be interested in joining the caravan, which was going to leave in about a two days. No, said Kar'ra, she had to take care of Asa's little sister, Bro'teel. No, said Asa's father, Aktor, he was too old for that. But Asa jumped at the chance. He had his own weapon and everything, he explained.

"Exactly how old are you?" asked the Elder.

"I'm fourteen." Asa answered crossly.

"Very well then, I guess you're old enough. Meet here tomorrow so I can introduce you to the other members of you caravan."

"Got it."

That night, Asa barely slept at all. The next day, he ran down to the elder's house, wondering what kind of companions he would have on his trip. Would they be the noble, but diminutive Lilities? Or perhaps a member of the Yuke race, the most skilled magic users in the world. They could be Clavats, to other race of humans, in his opinion the weakest of all four races. They avoid fighting whenever they can, and they developed a reputation among the Selkies as being weaklings. He burst into the Elder's house, and saw the elder, along with two Clavats, one boy and one girl. "Oh, Asa, you're just in time. These are you traveling companions," the Elder said, gesturing at the pair, "this is Gale, and her friend, Kyre. Gale, Kyre, this is Asa."

"But Elder," Kyre said, "isn't he a little bit, you know, young?" Asa bristled at that comment, "I'm not young!" he exclaimed.

"How old are you, then?"

"I'm 14!"

"Now, now, children" said the Elder "the only thing that matters in a caravan is ability, not age. And I understand that Asa is an excellent fighter. Now, you children are leaving tomorrow at the crack of dawn, and you'll need your strength. Now go home, pack you things and rest. Tomorrow will be very difficult, make sure you say goodbye to everyone." The Elder then shooed them away, and Asa and Kyre exchanged glares on their way out the door. Asa sulked all the way home, thinking of ways to get back at Kyre. When Asa got home, he wasted no time packing. The first and most important item he packed was his weapon. It was a racquet type weapon. It had a long handle, with a crystal, who's edges where chipped off to make the edges sharp. The crystal had a strange property, when Asa concentrated, he could gather energy in crystal, and project it about seven feet in front him. He also packed a water skin, some dried meat, and about 100 gil. By the time he was done packing, it was dark outside. Asa heard his mother calling to him that dinner was ready. It wasn't much, just roast meat and rainbow grapes. After eating, he said goodnight to his mother and father, and went up to bed. That night, he went to sleep dreaming of his adventures to come.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Off We Go, Into the Wild Blue Yonder

"Wake up! Wake up! It's almost time for you to go!" Asa's sister was bouncing on his back, trying to wake him up.

"I'm up, I'm up." Asa mumbled, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes, and looking out the window. The sun was up, and the birds were singing. Asa's sister ran out of the room, giggling. Asa swung his legs over the bed, got dressed, and grabbed his stuff. He ran down stairs, by this time fully awake. He greeted his mother with a leaping hug. He ate a quick breakfast, and then walked to the edge of the village. There, he met up with Kyre and Gale. The Elder then administered a blessing, wishing them luck and freedom from harm. And with that, they went on their way. As the village shrank in the distance, Asa felt tears welling up in his eyes. He was excited to be part of the caravan, but it still hurt to leave his family. He quickly rubbed them away.

Some time later, they decided the first place they would go to. It was called River Belle Path. They would search for the Myrrh Tree there, and collect it's Myrrh. When they neared River Belle, Gale brought out the crystal chalice, a device that kept the deadly miasama at bay, and it was also the container that would used to collect the myrrh. By that time, Gale and Asa had been talking a lot, but Kyre and Asa had barely said a word to each other. Asa learned that Gale was 17 and Kyre as 18. Asa unslung his Aura racquet as they approached River Belle. Asa jumped out of the cart, with his weapon in his right hand, and the chalice under his left arm. Gale and Kyre had him carry it, because they both had to carry both a sword and a shield.

They had been walking for awhile, and had yet to see a single monster. Then as they rounded on of River Belle's many corners, they came upon a goblin. Kyre made like he was going to charge it, but Asa stopped him.

"What are you doing?" Kyre whispered.

"Just watch." Replied Asa. He set down the chalice, and gripped his weapon with both hands. He focused all the energy he could in the crystal, which began to glow a dark purple. Then when he could focus anymore, he pointed the racquet at the goblin, and released the energy burst. It flew from the crystal end, a brilliant dark purple and blue orb. It hit the goblin square in the back, sending it flying. Asa turned to Kyre, gave him a smirk, and walked over the goblin to make sure it was dead. "It's dead!" Asa shouted back. No sonner than when he finished speaking the words, both Gale and Kyre shouted "Look out!" Asa turned around and just barely managed to parry an attack from a second goblin. Before he was able to counter attack, the goblin grabbed him by the throat, and tossed him out side the protective radius of the chalice. He landed hard on his stomach. The wind was knocked out of him, and he started gasping for air. But every gasp he took seared his lungs. His vision blurred, and he heard voices calling him, from far off.

"Asa!" Gale shouted, dropping her shield and scoping up the chalice. She charged the goblin, and ran him through. She ran over to Asa, and dropped the chalice. His pupils where completely dilated, he was sweating profusely, and heaving for breath. She took out her water skin, and poured some water into his mouth. Gradually, Asa's breath began to even out, and his pupils returned to their normal size.

"Is he okay?" Kyre asked, running over.

"I think he will be, I'll just to cure him." Gale closed her eyes, and placed her hands on Asa's chest. She muttered a few words, and a turquoise glow emitted from her hands. Asa coughed a few times, blinked, and sat up.

"How are you feeling?" Gale asked.

"Like I've just been run over by an ox." Asa replied, smiling at her.

"Can you stand?" Kyre asked.

"Yeah," Asa replied getting shakily to his feet "let's go." They continued down until they came to a nest of hedgehogs. Asa still wasn't feeling top notch, so he let Gale and Kyre take care them. They made short work of the hedgehogs with their razor sharp swords. A short time later, they came upon a dead end. Directly in front of them was a waterfall and a small lake. Off to the left was a small alcove, in which stood the myrrh tree.

"Lets go." Said Kyre, as he started to walk toward the tree.

"Hold on a second." Asa replied. He walked over the lake and knelt down to take a drink. The water the cool and crisp, and invigorated his senses.

"Come on, Asa!" Gale shouted.

"Coming!" Asa started to run toward Gale and Kyre. Just as they started to near the myrrh tree, the ground began to shake. They looked behind them, just in time a giant crab catapult from behind the waterfall.

"Looks like we'll have to take care of this guy before we get the myrrh," grumbled Asa.

"Right." replied Gale and Kyre.

"Do you guys know the firaga spell?" Asa asked them.

"Yeah."

"Then lets do this."

They moved into positions around the crab. The crab eyed them warily, not sure what to think about these intruders. The trio began to charge the spell. Asa could fell the power flow through him. His skin began to craw, and he felt pinpricks on his body. "NOW!" Asa yelled, "FIRAGA!" the trio screamed in unison. The air around the crab exploded with enough force to knock Kyre off his feet. This was enough to motivate the crab into action. Since Kyre was the closest to it, the crab charged him. Kyre tried to get to his feed and run, but Asa saw he wasn't going to make it. Asa hurled the chalice at Gale, and ran toward Kyre. The crab wound up it's claw, and was just about to backhand Kyre, when Asa made a flying leap, shoving Kyre out of the way. The blunt end of the claw impacted Asa right in his midsection. Asa felt his ribs break, and he went flying across the ground. He smashed his head on a rock, and just lay there. His vison blurred, he tasted copper in his mouth, and the felt something warm and sticky flowing down his face and the back of his ead. He saw Gale and Kyre continue battle the crab. So this is how it ends, huh? He thought to himself. How pathetic, I couldn't even get one drop of myrrh. Asa started to loose consciousness, silently apologizing to his companions.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3: Battling and Bathing **

_**Shit,**_** Kyre though, dodging another swing by the massive crab. The situation was only getting worse. The damage Gale and him were dealing individually wasn't amounting to much against the behemoth crab. But the biggest problem was Asa. He hadn't moved since he'd been hit by the crab, and he was bleeding badly from his head. If they could only cast another firaga spell, they might be able to take this thing down. What every we do, Kyre thought, we need to do it quick, Asa's running out of time. Kyre leaped at the crab, thrusting his sword into the crab's shell. He yanked it back out, taking a chunk of the shell with it. He could see the white flesh pulsating beneath the shell. Suddenly he had an idea. **

"**Gale!" Kyre shouted, dodging another blow, "We need to cast Fira at that chip in his shell!" Gale shot him a confused glance, but her face brightened when she understood.**

"**Ready?"**

"**Yeah!"**

"**One, two, THREE!"**

"**FIRA!" **

**Kyre could feel the power of the spell surge through his body, and out his outstretched hand. The crab seemed to puff up, then the shell blew itself to pieces. They wasted no time running over to Asa. By now a blood had formed a small pool around his head. Gale put her index and middle finger under his nose. She could feel short, shallow breaths. She checked his pulse next, and found it was slow and weak. **

"**We need to heal him now!" Gale said, waving Kyre over. Gale place her hands on either side of Asa's head, and Kyre placed his hands on Asa's chest. A bright turquoise light enveloped them for a few moments, then faded. Asa's breathing evened out, and after a few minutes, he opened his eyes. **

"**Oohh, what happened?" Asa said trying to sit up. Gale gently, but firmly, pushed him back down.**

"**You need to rest, you lost a lot of blood." Asa looked over to where he last saw the giant crab, and quickly looked away. The sight of the bloody mess sinking into the ground was too much. "What the hell did you guys do to that thing?" Asa instantly regretted asking. Kyre immediately launched into a long winded explanation of his tactical prowess. Asa had to stop him half way through. His head was pounding, and Kyre's constant talking didn't help. After about ten minutes, Asa felt well enough to get up. He was shakey on his feet at first, but that was to be expected. He was on death's doorstep less than an hour ago. They made their way over to the Myrrh tree, each in awe of it's beauty. It looked like a giant bird with it's wings bend in front of it. Kyre placed the chalice on a pedestal at the base of the tree. The small crystal began to resonate and glow, and the tree followed suit. A clear drop of liquid formed at the tip of the tree, and fell in to the chalice. **

"**One down, two to go." Asa said, picking up the chalice. The myrrh was perfectly clear, but reflective at the same time. Asa looked into it, and at first didn't recognize himself. His face was covered in blood, and normally blond hair was red and matted. "Um guys, do you mind if I clean up before we go?" Asa asked, gesturing at his face. **

"**Yeah," Kyre said, staring at Asa, "no problem." They walked over the waterfall's pool. Kyre and Gale sat with their backs to the pool while Asa disrobed. This is gonna need to be washed, too, Asa thought, looking at his tunic. He pulled some soap and shampoo out of his pack, and jumped into the water. He was expecting it to be cold, but it was surprisingly warm. He washed the blood off his face, then sat back on the edge of the pool and started to lather up his hair. Like many Selkies, Asa wore his hair long. Unlike the other races, Selkies didn't consider long hair to be feminine. It took a few repetitions, but his hair was finally back to it's former color. He then went to work on his tunic. His mom anticipated he might have a problem with bloodstains, and backed him a bottle of blood remover. I don't think she would have anticipated me having to use the whole thing in one go, Asa though. She's gonna have a heart attack when I write her. **

**After some intense scrubbing, Asa managed to get his tunic clean. After drying his hair, and his tunic, they were ready to go. Walking back to the caravan, Kyre case a sideways glance at Asa. When they had left, he felt nothing but animosity and contempt for him, and he was pretty sure Asa felt the same way about him. But the fact that Asa had laid down his life for him, Kyre changed his mind. Despite his small stature and inexperience, Kyre concluded that Asa was invaluable to this endeavor. When he thought back to the battle with the crab, a chill ran down his spine. Hopefuly, thought, the rest of the trip will go better. **


	4. Chapter 4

I'm taking a bit of a hiatus from my Mirror's Edge story to work on this for awhile. Yes, I did make up the name of Asa's hometown. If you don't like it, you can kiss my ass. That being said, enjoy!

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Chapter 4: Backstory and Mushrooms

A Miasma stream is a place where the miasma becomes concentrated, and forms a violently flowing stream. The trio stood outside the Miasma stream forest, staring in. It was black as night, and eerie howling sound drifted out from the trees. "Well, let's get going." Kyre said, staring off into the forest, Gale and Asa followed behind him. Asa thought about his companions to take his mind off the eeriness of the forest. Both were taller than him, Gale about five foot four, and Kyre was about five six. Kyre's brown hair was messy, and he was constantly pushing it out of his face. His eyes were brilliant green. Gale too had brown hair, which fell down to her shoulders. Her eyes were dark brown, and she was always smiling.

The sky continued to get darker and darker, and the howling was becoming a roar. When they finally reached the stream, they stood staring at it. It was beautiful and horrifying at the same time. The miasma was so concentrated you could actually see it. It flowed over a natural bridge, blasted everything in it's path. Asa gripped the chalice tightly, and started forward. Every Miasma stream is associated with one of four elements; wind, earth, fire and water. This particular stream was aligned with the water element, so the trio had changed the chalice's element back at River Belle Path. As Asa got closer to the center of the bridge, he felt the miasma physically repelling him. He dug in his feet, and fought forward. When they finally reached the center of the stream, the chalice reacted so drastically that Asa nearly dropped it. The protective sphere that encircled them suddenly became visible. It looks as if they were encased by a paper thin crystal sphere.

"Woah." Kyre breathed.

"It's beautiful!" Gale cried, looking all around her.

"It sure is." Asa said, looking at the protective barrier, then down at the chalice. As they left the miasma stream, they breathed a collective sigh of relief. They were now in Iron Mine Downs. To the north was Marr's Pass, a small trading town. To the north east was the Mine of Cathuriges, a once thriving, now abandoned iron mine. To the east was the Jegon River and their next destination, the Mushroom Forest. The trio started off toward the forest, when Gale suddenly blurted out, "So, Asa, where are you from originally?"

"A little town in the Plains of Fum called Valtue. It's about the size of Marr's Pass" Asa replied, hopping off the caravan to walk with her.

"Oh, what made you guys come to Tipa?"

"Well, Valture was kinda falling apart. There were a lot of rumors that the towns crystal was failing, and it wouldn't be able to last a whole year without more myrrh. But I think the biggest thing was that, umm, the people weren't exactly….friendly toward us."

"How do you mean?" Gale asked, cocking her head.

"You know as well as I do what the other tribes thinks of us! Thieves! Brigands! They said we were 'bad for the community' and pushed us to the edge of town!" Asa was practically yelling at this point, "My father was working day in and day out, and we still could barely afford food! They _made _us live up to the stereotypes!" Asa realized he was yelling, and blushed slightly. "Anyway, my dad found out that there was land we could afford in Tipa, so we left."

"That just horrible!" Gale exclaimed, crossing her arms, "no one should be judged on their race!" Gale put a hand on Asa's shoulder, "Don't worry, we aren't like that in Tipa."

"Thanks." Asa said, smiling.

"Look alive, you two, we're almost there." Kyre called down from his position at reigns. The Mushroom forest certainly live up to it's name. There were no trees to be seen, just giant fungus. Most of them were bigger than tress. They secured the caravan, then headed into the forest.

"I wonder if you can eat these?" Asa mused, running his hand over the enormous stem.

"I'll give you 20 gil if you try." Kyre replied with a smirk.

Unlike River Belle, they didn't have to wait long to fight. Within five minutes of walking into the forest, they were confronted by two hell plants, as well as a gremlin. The hell plants began shooting large seeds at them, while the gremlin rushed in. Asa cast a fire spell on one plant, then finished it off with his racquet. Kyre used his shield to deflect the second's plant's projectiles, and cut it neatly in two with his sword. The gremlin charged Gale, waving it's flail over it's head and cackling wildly. Gale simply kicked it's feet out from under it, then stabbed it in the back.

As they moved deeper into the forest, the monsters became more plentiful. More than once a hell plant almost took Asa's head off, and a gremlin actually jumped off a mushroom onto Kyre's back. The chalice's crystal resonates when it gets closer to the myrrh tree, and the trio used that to help them navigate through the maze of fungus. The chalice was vibrating wildly when they reached a huge clearing. Sitting in the middle was a little green creature. It hissed at them as they got closer, and puffed itself up to it's full size.

"Awww, it's so cute!" Gale cooed.

"I dunno about that." Asa said, eying the creature. He had a bad feeling about this.

"You sure have odd tastes." Kyre said, drawing his sword, pointing it at the creature. The creature began to shake violently.

"Stop it! You're scaring it!" Gale yelled, punching Kyre in the arm. Kyre into it Gale, yellomg back at her, but Asa was too interested in the creature to notice. It seemed to be sucking in air through the tubes that stuck out all over it's body. Asa heard a loud rustling, and saw the giant mushrooms shaking off their spores. The spores flowed toward the creature, and it sucked them in. Asa thought he was imagining it at first, but the creature was growing as it sucked in more spores. And it was growing fast.

"Get away from it!" Asa yelled. He turned and ran, and the others followed. They didn't really have a choice, unless they wanted to be left outside of the chalice's protective boundary. Asa stopped once they put about twenty yards between them and the creature. It was growing faster and faster, and the sound of the spores flowing through the air was mounting to a crescendo . The creature stopped growing when it was about thirty feet tall. Kyre leaned over to Gale and whispered "Still think it's cute?"

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Done and done. Can you tell I'm no good at writing fight scenes? Up next is the fight with the Malbolo, then gang goes to Marr's Pass. Before the year is over, a new character will be introduced, and I've already got it in my head to torture poor Asa. Mwuahahahhahahahha!


End file.
